Antimicrobial effects of folk medicinal plants from the North of Iran against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Background: Medicinal plants have been used traditionally in Golestan province (north of Iran), against Mycobacterium tuberculosis or the clinical signs of tuberculosis (TB). Objectives: This study aimed to define the inhibitory effects of ethanolic extracts of six of these medicinal plants against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Materials and Methods: Peganum harmala (seed extract), Punica granatum (peel extract), Digitalis sp. (leaf extract), fruit extract of Citrus lemon, Rosa canina and Berberis vulgaris were extracted in ethanol and their activity against M. tuberculosis isolates were determined by the agar diffusion method. The zone of inhibition (at 200 to 1.6 mg/mL) was measured and the results were compared with isoniazid and rifampin as standard positive controls. Also the concentration of vitamin C of each the extracts was evaluated. Results: The ethanolic extract of Peganum harmala seed and Punica granatum peel exhibited potential activity against all M. tuberculosis isolates with mean inhibitory zone of 18.7 and 18.8 mm, at 200 mg/mL concentration. The mean inhibitory zone around isoniazid and rifampinwere 19.2 and 18.8 mm. Ethanolic extract of Citrus lemon showed moderate inhibitory activity only against sensitive (non MDR; non multi drug resistant) strains of M. tuberculosis, and Digitalis sp. showed inhibitory effects on five isolates. Ascorbic acid content was 43.3 mg/dL in Punica granatum and Digitalis sp. and only 9.1 mg/dL in ethanolic extract of Peganum harmala. Conclusions: The highest content of vitamin C was observed in the extract of Punica granatum, which was observed to be highly active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while the P. harmala must have contained other phytochemical constituents that contributed to the anti-tuberculosis effects of this plant. Our findings showed that ethanolic extracts of P. granatum and P. harmala had anti-TB effects comparable to isoniazid and rifampin and can be good candidates for novel and safe natural products against tuberculosis. © 2015, Pediatric Infections Research Center

Role of histaminegic and calcium channels in the inhibitory effects of hydroalcoholic extract of matricaria recutita L. on isolated rabbit jejunum

Introduction: Considering the long traditional history of anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic effects of Matricria spices on the gastrointestinal system, the present study aimed to investigate the role of calcium channels and Histamine receptors in the inhibitory effects of hydroalcoholic dry extract of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) on the isolated rabbit jejunum. Methods: All experiments were done on the isolated jejunum of New Zealand rabbits (1.8-2.5 kg). Dry extract of aerial parts of M. recutita was obtained by the maceration technique. The study was performed on two groups (n=6 in each group). In the first group, the effects of cumulative concentrations of M. recutita (3×10-3-1×10-2 mg/ml) on normal and K+-induced contractions (50 mM) of isolated jejunum were studied. In the second group, the inhibitory role of M. recutita (3 – 13×10-3 mg/ml) was evaluated in the presence and absence of histamine and cetrizine. In the presence and absence of 10 μM certizine, a histamine H1-antagonist, a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect of M. recutita extract in the range of 3-13×10-3 mg/ml was recorded the rabbit jejunum. Results: Results showed that EC50 of M. recutita in the absence and presence of K+ was 6.3×10-3 and 6.5×10- 3mg/ml, respectively. IC50 values for two concentrations of M. recutita (8×10-3 , 1×10-2 ) to abrogated contractive phase of Histamine was 9.55 × 10-6 and 1.57 × 10-6 μM. Cetrizine (10 μM) abolished inhibitory effects of M. recutita (IC50=3.6×10-3), (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Dry extract of matricaria recutita had inhibitory effects on the contractions of isolated rabbit jejunum. Calcium channels and histamine were involved in these antispasmodic effects

Negative performance of root extract of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. on the burn wound healing in an animal model

Background: Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. belongs to the Boraginaceae family which locally known as" Hava Chobeh", and it is considered as one of the most important Mountainous medicinal plants in North of Iran, Its red roots have been used by the rural healers as either singular or combination with other plants as antiseptic and anti-inflammatory to treat the burns and wound healing. Methods and Findings: In this study, the acetonic extract of plant root was used for the evaluation of its healing efficiency on burn wound model in rat. Burn induced in Wistar rats, and subsequently they were divided into five groups were treated as follow: Group-I ointment containing of extract 2%, Group-II, traditional ointment containing of goat lipid and root extract, Groups-III ointment alone, Group-IV (positive control) the standard drug (silver sulphadiazine) and Group-V (negative control) untreated rats. The assessment the burn area healing was carried out within 14 days. Our results showed that the treated group in I and II, the intensity of wound increased up to the day 8, even the wound diameter much more expanded than negative control group (group V). The best result was demonstrated by Silver sulphadiazine treated group (group IV). Conclusion: This study shows that Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. root did not have any effect on healing of burn wounds in an animal model. Further studies are requiring for assessment of this plant in combination with other plants on burn wound healing. © Under License of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Crumpling-based soft metamaterials: The effects of sheet pore size and porosity

Crumpled-based materials are relatively easy to fabricate and show robust mechanical properties for practical applications, including meta-biomaterials design aimed for improved tissue regeneration. For such requests, however, the structure needs to be porous. We introduce a crumpled holey thin sheet as a robust bio-metamaterial and measure the mechanical response of a crumpled holey thin Mylar sheet as a function of the hole size and hole area fraction. We also study the formation of patterns of crease lines and ridges. The area fraction largely dominated the crumpling mechanism. We also show, the crumpling exponents slightly increases with increasing the hole area fraction and the total perimeter of the holes. Finally, hole edges were found to limit and guide the propagation of crease lines and ridges

Survey on parasite infection of two years old carp bream, Abramis brama, to Ligula intestinalis in Alagol lake and Gorganroud (Golestan dam) - Golestan province

To evaluate the infection of carp bream (Abramis brama) with ligula intestinalis in Golestan province, 92 fish samples from two regions: Gorganroud (61 samples) and Alagol lakes (31 samples) were investigated. According to the result in the present study, the prevalence of ligula intestinalis plerocercoid infestation in carp bream from Alagol Lake for male, female and overall (male and female) were 5.88%, 7.14% and 6.45%, respectively, also in the Gorganroud river for male, female and overall (male and female) were recorded as 22.22%, 26.47%, and 24.59%, respectively. Based on the statistical analysis, the prevalence of this parasite in fish specimens from the Gorganroud was recorded significantly higher than Alagol lake`s specimens. In this study, the mean intensity ± SD of parasite infestation for carp beam in Alagol Lakes and Gorganroud were recorded as 2.5 ± 2.1 and 2.00 ± 1.25, respectively. There was no significant difference in mean intensity of ligula intestinalis infection between two mentioned regions (P<0.05). The length of isolated and number of isolated parasites for each infected fish was different between 6 -64 cm and 1-5 numbers respectively. Totally, mean prevalence and intensity of ligula intestinalis infection for both regions in Golestan province were recorded as: 18.48 % and 2.05 ± 1.25 number (per infected fish) respectively. There was no significant difference between male and female for prevalence and intensity of parasite infection in this study (P<0.05)

Antibacterial activity of certain Iranian medicinal plants against methicillin-resistant and sensitive Staphylococcus aureus

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a serious global problem and includes strains of beta-lactam-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Novel antimicrobials and/or new approaches to combat the problem are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of alcoholic and aqueous extract of 23 medical plants species of Golestan province on clinical and standard stains of MRSA and MSSA. Twenty three medicinal plants were collected from their natural habitat in Golestan province in north of Iran. Their ethanolic and aqueous extract obtained by percolation methods. Antibacterial effects were assessed by disk diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extracts was determined by the micro broth dilution against 14 clinical and standard strains of methicillin resistant and sensitive of Staphylococcus aureus. The ethanolic and aqueous extract of 8, 3 plants showed best anti staphylococcal effect, respectively. The ethanolic extract of Artemisia, herbaalba, Nigella sativa, Punica granatum, possed the most outstanding in vitro antibacterial activity which the maximum inhibition zone was 22.4-18 mm, respectively and the lowest MIC values was measured in Punica granatum, as 0.01 mg mL-1 against MRSA The results showed that ethanolic extract had better antibacterial effect than aqueous extract and anti staphylococcal activity of Ethanolic extract of plants against MRSA was better than MSSA strains. Ethanolic and aqueous extract of Punica granatum had the best antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms. The result obtained from these plants might be considered sufficient for further studies. © 2006 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity from essential oil of Artemisia sieberi Besser subsp. Sieberi in North of Iran

The chemical composition and antibacterial effect of Artemisia siberi essential oil were studied in this research. The composition of essential oil from aerial parts was analyzed by GC/MS and its antibacterial effect were determined by disc diffusion method. Artemisia ketone (48.5%), 1, 8-cineole (19.7%), selin-11-en-4-a-ol (4.6%) and lavandulon (2.8%) were the major constituents of this herbal medicine. Inhibitory zone against Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli around discs contained 100 mg mL-1 of Artemisia siberi essential oil were 18, 13 and 12 mm, respectively. Further studies for the determination of and Pseudomonas infection in animal model are suggested. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Serum levels of iron parameters and IL-17 in children with Helicobacter pylori infection compared to healthy group

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori is related to iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and inflammatory responses causing gastric and duodenal ulcer and carcinoma. Moreover, it leads to deficiency of factors associated with iron adsorption and transfer. In the present study, we recruited 100 children (50 infected with H. pylori and 50 controls) aged 3-14 years old (40% male and 60% female) to evaluate the effect of H. pylori on anemia and some of its related factors (i.e., total iron binding capacity [TIBC], ferritin, and transferrin) and also the amount of IL-17 expression. For the assessment of H. pylori, Euroimmune (Germany) kit was used for the ELISA test according to the instructions of manufacturer. Furthermore, for the measurement of IL-17 level, ELISA test (IBL commercial specific kit, Germany) was employed. The mean iron levels in the control and infected groups were 81.5 mg/dl and 43 mg/dl, respectively, which showed a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.007). The mean levels of transferrin in the control and infected children were 291 mg/dl and 249 mg/dl respectively, demonstrating a significant difference (P=0.008). Moreover, the ferritin levels were 64.5 ng/dl and 14 ng/dl in the control and infected groups, respectively (P=0.001). The TIBC levels were 329 mg/dl and 301 mg/dl, respectively (P=0.86). The mean levels of IL-17 in the healthy and infected children were 3.93±0.93 pg/ml and 8.887±1.46 pg/ml, respectively (P=0.002). Our findings revealed that H. pylori can play a role in anemia and induction of inflammatory responses through reducing iron-related parameters and significantly enhancing IL-17 level among the infected children compared to the healthy group

Effects of Caspian Sea water level fluctuations on existing drains

This study is an attempt to develop an integrated methodology to predict the impact of the Caspian Sea on flooding using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and hydrodynamic modeling. A rise in the sea level might lead to major flooding events, and have a severe impact on the spatial development of cities and regions. The feasibility of simulating a flood event along a drain channel is evaluated near residential development areas along the Chapakroud drain. The results of the study show that about 2 km of the drain embankments would be influenced by changes in sea water levels. For elevations of -23 m and -24 m, the maximum depths of water in the drain are 3.95 m and 2.94 m. The tail of the backwater reaches 3465 m and 2390 m, respectively, leading to flooded areas of 35.97 ha and 12.88 ha. The study shows that at these elevations environmental and social problems arise with regards to the drain. The results also indicate that GIS is an effective tool for floodplain visualization and analysis. It should be noted that the mixture of salt and soft water, as a result of rising sea water level, is a problem that was not investigated in this study and should be examined in the future

Type-2 fuzzy linear systems

Fuzzy Linear Systems (FLSs) are used in practical situations where some of the systems parameters or variables are uncertain. To date, investigations conducted on FLSs are restricted to those in which the uncertainty is assumed to be modeled by Type-1 Fuzzy Sets (T1FSs). However, there are many situations where considering the uncertainty as T1FSs may not be possible due to different interpretations of experts about the uncertainty. Moreover, solutions of FLSs are T1FSs which do not provide any information about a measure of the dispersion of uncertainty around the T1FSs. Therefore, in this research a model of uncertain linear equations system called a type-2 fuzzy linear system is presented to overcome the shortcomings. The uncertainty is represented by a special class of type-2 fuzzy sets – triangular perfect quasi type-2 fuzzy numbers. Additionally, conditions for the existence of a unique type–2 fuzzy solution to the linear system are derived. A definition of a type-2 fuzzy solution is also given. The applicability of the proposed model is illustrated using examples in the pulp and paper industry, and electrical engineering